


Mixed Emotions

by still_lycoris



Category: Through the Dragon's Eye
Genre: Confusion, Fights, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 07:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23967949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/still_lycoris/pseuds/still_lycoris
Summary: Boris hates it when his friends fight. It just doesn't make sense to him.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Mixed Emotions

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is based on my headcanon that Charn was a Keeper before he became evil - and was called Horris to fit with the naming system.

Boris stepped outside the Veetacore House and sighed heavily as he did. He wasn’t actually sorry to be outside, not given that Morris was practically curled up in a corner and almost crying. Morris always hating fighting the most of all of them, they all knew it and if he wasn’t managed properly afterwards, he’d mope for ages, particularly as Horris’s sudden fury had been directed at the latest batch of pets, which tended to be a sore spot. And okay, yes, the Verdant Slugs weren’t Boris’s favourite houseguests but there wasn’t much point getting really cross about it, was there? Not when you knew Morris would just get sad.

Horris didn’t seem to agree. What seemed like out of nowhere, he had been yelling at Morris about the mess and the waste of time it was looking after such useless creatures and Morris had, typically, insisted that the Verdant Slugs weren’t useless and that they were sweet, which had only made Horris angrier. Doris had tried to intervene which usually fixed everything but this time, Horris had only become more enraged and it had finally ended with him calling Morris a ridiculous waste of space before storming out, slamming the door violently behind him and leaving the three of them standing there, feeling awkward.

“You go and sort Horris out,” Doris had ordered in a whisper. “I’ll cheer Morris up and by the time you bring Horris back in to apologise, everything will be all right.”

Usually, Boris believed everything Doris said but this time, he wasn’t feeling quite so sure. It had been quite a row and Horris had seemed really angry in a way Boris wasn’t sure he’d ever seen him before. He was sitting a way off next to some bushes, his back to the house and Boris headed over, hands in pockets, wondering if he ought to whistle in a jaunty way to let Horris know he was coming but deciding against it. It might seem a bit too bright, like nothing had happened and well, something had. 

Horris was hunched right over and as Boris got to him, he thought he heard a strange buzzing sound that he didn’t recognise. He shivered. It was strangely cold, even though the sun was out.

“It’s freezing out here!”

Horris jumped. He obviously hadn’t heard Boris coming. He got to his feet quickly, turning so he was looking at Boris. Had he always been taller than Boris? Boris supposed he must have been. You didn’t just grow taller, did you? Maybe he was just noticing because they were outside. It had been a while since they were out together. Horris seemed to have gone off cricket, which was annoying of him as none of the others had ever even started. Horris had been the only reliable player.

“Freezing?” he said, sounding rather blank. “Is it?” 

“Yes it is! Well, at least, really cold anyway,” Boris said, pushing his hands deeper in his pockets. “Come back inside, would you?”

“And be forced into _apologising?_ ” Horris hissed the last word with such vehemence that Boris almost stepped back. He felt silly for the impulse. Horris was just grumpy, that was all. He’d always been like this. Nothing had changed. There was no reason to be _scared_.

“Oh come on. It won’t be that bad. And you know, you were a bit mean. I know Morris can be a bit silly about his pets but there’s no need to get so cross about it and calling him a ridiculous waste of space was unkind.”

“He _is_ ridiculous,” Horris said flatly. “He’s always ridiculous. Why should I have to apologise for saying that?”

“Because it’s not nice,” Boris said.

“Oh!” Horris threw up his hands. “Can’t you do better than _that?!_ Can’t you give me a _reason?_ Who cares if I’m being _nice?_ ”

Boris stared at him a little helplessly. He didn’t know what to say. Wasn’t being nice a reason? You were supposed to be nice, that was what you did. If you weren’t nice, you were mean and you weren’t supposed to be mean. That was just how things were supposed to be. Why did Horris suddenly want him to try and explain it when he had to know the answer himself?

“You can’t ask me questions like that,” he offered, smiling hopefully. “You’re the smart one, not me, remember? I just get on with things. You’re the one who asks and answers funny questions!”

Horris stared at him. For a moment, there seemed to be something in his look that Boris didn’t like at all but then it faded and he smiled a strange smile.

“Yes. I’m the smart one.”

Encouraged, Boris stepped up and gave him a gentle nudge.

“So? Be smart, come back, tell Morris you didn’t mean it and we can play a game of cards or something!”

“What if I did mean it?”

Horris asked it in a friendly, reasonable way, which made the question all the more odd. Boris felt another chill run through him. It really was cold out here, even though the sun was still high. Pelamar didn’t often get cold, except when it snowed. He didn’t think it was going to snow now so why was it making him so shivery?

“Well ... you didn’t mean it,” he said. “Or ... I mean, you _meant_ it, when you said it but that’s not the same as _meaning_ it, is it? You wouldn’t mean something as mean as that.”

“Oh Boris. Boris, you really _aren’t_ the smart one, are you?”

Horris often said things like that and Boris relaxed a little. He nudged his friend a little again, grinning and felt relieved when Horris smiled back, properly this time. He felt as though things were happening that he didn’t understand and he didn’t like and he just wanted everything to be normal and now it looked like it was. He gestured for Horris to come and Horris stepped toward and that was when Boris noticed something odd.

“Hey, what’s that?”

There was a strange puddle on the ground, a brighter green than the grass it was lying on. Horris had been standing in the way before but now Boris could see it clearly and crouched down to examine it. He’d never seen anything like it before. It was dry around the edges but when Boris reached out to touch it, he found gooey in the middle as though it was only recent. 

“Oh, I wouldn’t dip your fingers in it,” Horris said softly. “Not if you don’t know what it is. It must be some ... waste that’s been left behind.”

“Ugh!” Boris said, wiping his fingers on the grass and standing up quickly. “I wonder where it came from? Did you see?”

“It probably wasn’t anything important. Now, come on. If you want to go in, let us go in. You’re right, Boris. I’m sure everything will be much better now.”

Boris nodded, cheerful again. It was only later that he realised that Horris hadn’t actually answered the question that he had asked and a long time after that when he realised the significance of that lack of answer. He couldn’t help feeling that if he’d been smarter, if he’d thought about how truly angry Horris had been, if he’d really put together the distress Morris had shown later that night when he could only find two of his bright green slug friends, not the three that there should have been, if he’d only _thought_ ...

But he’d never been the smart one. He’d always relied on Horris for that. Horris asked and answered the questions. That was what he was for. And when he said everything was fine, Boris had believed him.

Why would Horris lie, after all?


End file.
